Chemical castration bill becomes law

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, September 17, 1996

1996-09-17 04:00:00 PDT CALIFORNIA -- SACRAMENTO - Gov. Wilson Tuesday signed the nation's first state law requiring repeat sex offenders to undergo chemical castration, a process he called "a common-sense step to eliminate that sick impulse among our sickest criminals."

Wilson signed the measure by Assemblyman Bill Hoge, R-Pasadena, during a ceremony at a Los Angeles "safe house" where children stay after school before their parents get off work.

The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, requires two-time sex offenders convicted of molesting a child less than 13 years old to undergo chemical castration, which entails weekly administration of a chemical that shrinks their testicles.

Wilson said Tuesday that more than half of all paroled sex offenders in California commit a new offense or parole violation less than a year after getting out of prison.

There are about 66,000 registered sex offenders in California, about 38,000 of whom have been convicted of molesting a child.

Wilson pointed out Tuesday that chemical castration has been used for years in Europe and has been shown to be effective, reducing the recidivism rate to less than 5 percent.

Some therapists in California have argued that the new law only solves part of the problem. They say use of the drug must be accompanied by intensive therapy, as it has been in Europe, in order for the process to be effective.

"This bill provides just a part of the answer," said Al Cooper, head of Stanford's Training Program, Counseling and Psychological Services, and clinical director of the San Jose Marital & Sexuality Center, which treats some sex offenders.

The drug, Cooper said, provides a "bridge" during which therapy may be effective. "If it's a bridge to nowhere, what good is the bridge?" he asked. "It needs to have the other components."

Wilson, however, said the drug would eliminate the urge for the molesters to commit new crimes.&lt;